I first started to use the heating pad I got a few days ago, it's quite big and unweildy so that I have to hold it up against the side of my face which gets tiring, anyway, it doesn't seem that hot though the cover is thick which prevents all the heat coming through. I was using it just holding it up for ten mins at at time, but it seemed to make my ear probs worse, they throbbed afterwards, maybe I was pressing it too hard against the ear. But yesterday I got so tired I lay down with it on top of my jaw and ear (yesterday my ears felt so full, as if I had little swollen balloons in them, it's such an annoying unpleasant feeling, together with dizziness and nausea which I'm realizing is connected to the middle ear inflammation), and this worked much better, the swollen feeling in my right ear has gone down a lot. So I didn't waste my money on this heating pad after all
The heating pad seems to work at last 
